Past Present & The Future
by poseysharman
Summary: Veronica is happy with the life she has; she now owns Mars Investigation and is happily engaged to Piz. But when Logan enters her life again, will that change? LoVe/Pizonica
1. Prolouge

**Mwaha, I'm back! And, with a brand new LoVe/Pizonica story! So this was inspired by my fic "This Feeling's Taking Control". If you read that, then this is just a longer, story verison of that ficlet that will develop a lot more (:  
><strong>**If you're a new reader, then welcome! I hope you all enjoy! And r****emember! R&R! (:**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing involving Veronica Mars; it all belongs to that genius Rob Thomas.**

* * *

><p><strong>Prolouge<strong>

Veronica's face instantly lit up with a bright smile as she walked through the front door of the Mars family apartment. Her first few months back in her sophomore year of college sure hadn't been easy, and Veronica found peace in being able to escape the college life, even if it's just for a short amount of time, by going home.

She dropped her bag onto the couch and headed to the refrigerator to grab water, and to see what she would be working with tonight. Her father was working late again (the price you pay when you're sheriff) again, and Veronica had promised him a nice home cooked meal for when he got home. She had just pulled out some frozen chicken to defrost for later when she heard her phone buzzing from the coffee table. She placed the food down and went over to check who was calling…only to have her breath caught short.

Her phone read that it was Logan Echolls calling in.

Veronica hadn't seen much of Logan since returning from her internship with the FBI last month. She had left Neptune with many unresolved issues, mostly revolving around Logan and Piz, her boyfriend at the time. Before leaving, she and Piz had agreed to take a break that summer and see how they were when she returned. They both knew that a lot had happened before she left, a lot that had affected their relationship in a good and bad way, and that the best thing to do was take some time away from each other.

Logan and she, on the other hand, had resolved nothing. After the incident in the cafeteria, Veronica hadn't seen Logan at all until the day she was getting ready to leave. He stopped by her house, literally an hour before she was leaving to hop on a plane.

"_You and Piz broke up I hear?" he said to her that day._

"_We're taking a break while we're both away this summer," she corrected._

"_I want you to know, I'm changing, Veronica; I'm changing for you because I don't want to loose you. Not again."_

"_Saying you're going to change and actually changing is two completely different things, Logan."_

"_I'll prove to you that I've changed. By the time you come back, you'll see I'm a completely different person. I swear."_

Veronica shook that memory from her brain. Whenever she thought of that conversation, her chest seemed to tighten up ever so slightly. She looked down at the phone, tempted to just ignore the call, but something inside of her, something deep down in her stomach, told her that she needed to answer.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Hey, Veronica. I'm outside of your house. You think you can come outside to talk to me?"

Curious, Veronica peaked her head out the window, and sure enough the first thing she saw was Logan's car parked right in front of her apartment door.

"What is this about, Logan?"

"Please just come outside? It's important, okay?"

Veronica sighed and closed her phone. Once again, she was tempted to just ignore Logan; to ignore his attempts at seeing her, but she got that feeling again that told her she needed to talk to him.

Veronica thought back to when she returned from Virginia. The internship had gone well; she got to experience what crimes outside of Neptune were like, how serious and dangerous the world can really be firsthand. Upon returning to Neptune, Veronica felt her usual happy mood (something that probably seemed odd for someone who just spent all summer with the FBI) fade into a gloomy one as she remembered all the baggage she left behind.

Veronica returned home to find some very different changes with the people around her. For one, her dad seemed to be happy as the sheriff again; he seemed less stressed surprisingly. Mac, one of Veronica's few close friends, seemed to be spending more time with Dick, the brother of Mac's deceased ex boyfriend (who also happened to be a murder). Wallace had made new friends with kids on their team's basketball team (but of course he was more than thrilled when Veronica, his best friend, returned).

The biggest surprise, however, was the one with Logan. She soon discovered after returning home from Mac that he had moved out of his suite at the Neptune Grand and now shared an apartment with Dick. He spent less time out partying and surfing, and more time catching up on any work he had missed during their second semester of their freshman year of college. He was still the same old carefree Logan when Veronica talked to him the first time after coming back from Virginia; Veronica knew that would never change, but there was something different about him. He had matured a lot over the summer, even Veronica could see that.

Every time she saw Logan, however, a small pain filled her chest. No matter how many times she saw how he had changed, changed for _her_, she couldn't see past all the pain he's put her through, all the pain she's put _him_ through. She couldn't forget how much work it was for her just to be happy to be with him, or how tired she was after every fight she had with him. _"Relationships shouldn't be this much work,"_ she constantly thought to herself.

But with Piz there was no extra effort needed; it wasn't constant fight after fight with him. While Logan seemed to be her storm cloud, full of passion, yet always brewing for another fight, Piz was her sunshine, filling her with warmth; while Logan gave her a reason to be angry, Piz gave her a reason to smile. Her time with Logan may have been epic, but her time with Piz could be the love story every girl always hoped they'd achieve.

That's why Veronica choose Piz.

Xxx

Veronica crossed her arms across her chest defensively as the door to her apartment closed behind her.

Logan stood only twenty-five feet away from her, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against his car. He was trying to look casual, but Veronica could easily tell how uncomfortable he looked; maybe even a little hurt too.

She hadn't seen much of Logan since getting back together with Piz two months ago. Veronica had hoped to try and be friends with him, but Logan always pushed her away.

"_You moved on, I understand. Now it's my turn,"_ was the last thing Logan had said to her before continuing his life on, ignoring Veronica's existence.

Veronica took a hesitant step towards him. Finally, Logan looked up from the ground and made direct eye contact with her. "Hey Veronica," he said softy.

"Hi Logan," Veronica replied in an almost whisper.

Both were quiet for a moment. Logan's eyes darted back to the ground and stayed there for a minute before returning to Veronica's face. She watched as pain crossed Logan's boyish face. Veronica knew instantly that what he was about to say was going to hurt them both inside.

Logan heaved himself off the car and took a small step towards her. "Veronica, look. I…I am here to tell you something." Logan's eyes darted back down to the ground. "Something I thought would be a lot easier to say than it really is," he said, almost to himself, letting out a small, dark chuckle.

"What is it, Logan?" Veronica asked.

"I'm leaving Neptune," he finally blurted out after another minute of silence.

Veronica looked at him for a moment, unsure of the importance of that statement. Logan shook his head. "I don't think you get it, Veronica. I'm leaving Neptune…and I'm not coming back. I'm leaving Hearse. Well, actually, I've already left Hearse. I dropped out of all my classes a few days ago."

Veronica starred at Logan. "…What? But…why? You were doing so well here, Logan."

Logan took a moment before responding. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders. "Because you made your choice. You don't want me anymore. There's nothing left in Neptune for me anymore; it just holds all these bad memories. I would have left a long time ago, but you were the reason I stayed; you kept me here. But now, I'm not the one you want, so…" Logan trailed off, shrugging his shoulders once more.

"But what about your friends? Dick? You're just going to leave him?" blurted out Veronica.

"Dick knows I'm leaving; I told him I was planning on it a few weeks ago. He was a little hurt, but he understands. He'll be fine; him, Mac and Wallace seemed to have formed an interesting new friendship. Plus, I trust you'll keep an eye on him too."

Veronica starred at Logan for a few seconds, testing to see if he was really serious, and finally sighed. "Is this really what you want to do, Logan?"

Logan shrugged for the third time. "I don't know. Part of me doesn't want to leave; this place may hold some pretty shitty moments of my life, but it also holds those people that I'll always love." Logan stopped speaking to stare at Veronica for a moment; it was truly killing him to say this. "But part of me, a bigger part of me, knows I need to get out of here now…or things will never change." Logan didn't clarify what he meant, but he didn't have to; Veronica knew exactly that he was referring to his feelings towards her.

When Veronica didn't say anything, Logan took another step towards her, now only a mere couple of inches away from her face. He carefully took a hold of her chin and tipped it up towards his face. When she didn't pull away or resist him, he slowly leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. Veronica allowed herself to close her eyes, momentarily forgetting that she was being kissed by someone not her boyfriend.

Logan pulled away a few seconds later, and whispered to her: "I'll miss you, Veronica."

"I'll miss you too, Logan," she replied without a moment's hesitation. At the time, she didn't understand why, but Veronica felt like the world was crashing down on her as realization dawned on her that Logan was leaving.

They looked at each other a moment longer, before Logan broke off the stare and headed to his car. He opened the door to his car, and gave one final look back at Veronica before getting in and starting it. Veronica watched from the sidewalk as Logan pulled away from her apartment and drove away.

She felt a small piece of her heart break that day as she realized it could be the last time she ever saw Logan Echolls.

* * *

><p><strong>So what did you guys think! I know, I know, this was a bit more Pizonica then LoVe &amp; I'm pretty sure most of you guys are probably LoVe shippers. But, bare with me! While there will be some Pizonica chapters, I promise you there is a hell of a lot of LoVe to come (:<strong>


	2. A New Normal

**I know, it's been like two weeks! I actually spent about five days debating whether I wanted to make this chapter an chapter on its own or not, and then when I decided I did, I planned it all out&had most of it typed within a day...only to hit a block & not have time to finish it until now! :/. This is one of my chapters where I'm begging you to just bare with me; I realized that I kind of needed this chapter to help build up the background of my story. I PROMISE the chapters will get longer afterb this, and I will update a lot faster(I'm hoping for at least one new chapter every week).**

**Also, I apologize for calling my last post the Epilouge. I posted that extremely late on Friday, and I totally didn't realize that I mixed prolouge and epilouge up. Whoops!**

**Thank you so so much for all six of you who reviewed my first chapter, and to everyone who favorited/story alerted this story! You guys keep reviewing/favoriting, and I'll keep writing (:**

**R&R**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter One - A New Normal<em>**

_F__ive years later…_

Veronica woke to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing loudly. She groaned, wishing she could have just once more hour of sleep before she had to get up for work. Once she realized that wish was not going to be fulfilled, Veronica shrugged the thin blanket she had on over her. She looked over to the other side of her bed, only to find it empty. This didn't bother her, however; her boyfriend told her he had to be into work early today.

_Fiancé,_ she mentally reminded herself. _You're engaged now, Veronica; he's your fiancé, not boyfriend. _

Veronica knew it would take her some time to get used to the engaged status she now had. After Lily died, and her life in Neptune was altered forever, Veronica never really saw herself as getting engaged to anyone, let alone at only twenty-four.

Not that she was complaining, though. She was happily engaged to the love of her life. What else could she ask for in life?

Veronica got off her bed, and headed off to take a shower to start her morning

* * *

><p>Veronica sighed. She had gone of the same file for over an hour now, and she still couldn't figure out how to approach it. Getting involved with a custody battle between exes wasn't really her thing.<p>

After she had returned that summer from her internship in Virginia, Veronica was almost certain that working in the FBI was exactly what she wanted to do. She was definitely the type of person they would want, and it even got her out of her hometown, Neptune, the one town she never could really escape. Working with the FBI would have gave Veronica the chance she wanted to get out, and start over; to go to a place where nobody looked at her as the girl whose best friend was murdered, whose father was fired from the police force. She wouldn't be known as the girl to go to when help was needed in investigating another person.

But when the time came, as graduation from Hearst College grew closer, Veronica found herself second guessing her future. Veronica may be well-known in Neptune because of the past, but she had formed bonds here with people she wanted in her future. Besides, when had she ever cared what people thought of her? The FBI may have offered Veronica a change to escape Neptune, but it didn't give her the life she necessarily wanted.

When graduation was right around the corner, Veronica still hadn't decided where her future exactly was. After graduation, Veronica still wasn't sure. She was living in a tiny apartment with Mac at the time, and her father had listed her as the owner of Mars Investigation now that he was the town's sheriff, and Veronica needed a job to help pay the bills that accompanied her apartment.

Over time, Veronica's days slowly molded into the same daily routine. Without realizing it, her life had picked a path of its own. And when time came for her to finally decide whether to stay in Neptune, or to leave it all behind for Virginia, Veronica realized that her life wasn't in Virginia; it was in Neptune, working at Mars Investigation, surrounded by her family, friends and boyfriend.

Now, almost two years later, Veronica still owned Mars Investigation. Her father was still sheriff, and both of them still resided in the town of Neptune.

Veronica's phone buzzed, pulling her out of her dazed thoughts. She picked it up, and smiled when she looked at the caller phoning it.

"Mars Investigation, how can I help you?"

"Why, maybe you can. I'm looking for a particular blonde, a short and tiny one, to come outside to accompany me to lunch. Do you think you know any?"

Veronica smiled at her fiancé's attempt at humor. "Damn, I don't know if I can help. I only know this amazing, vertically challenged, blonde. Will she do?"

Veronica heard him dramatically sigh. "I guess so. But if you see the one I'm looking for, you tell her she owes me a lunch." Veronica found herself smiling again. "So what do you say? Lunch?"

"What time?"

"I was thinking now considering I'm outside your work."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Veronica stood up and grabbed her coat off the coat rack next to her desk, and found herself quickly walking outside to meet her fiancé. It was sprinkling when Veronica opened the door, but there still stood her fiancé, outside, leaning against his car. Veronica smiled at him, and even from across the street where he was parked, she could tell he was smiling too.

Looking quickly both ways, Veronica raced across the street. She ran right into the open arms of Stosh 'Piz' Piznarski, her smiling not once fading from her mouth.

* * *

><p>Veronica had never expected her life to turn out the way it did. If she was asked five years ago if she ever saw herself engaged, much less to her college romance, she honestly would have laughed. She would have laughed if she was told she was still living in Neptune, running her own private investigation. But here she was, her life the exact opposite of she's always seen it.<p>

When Logan left her life, Veronica wasn't sure how she should feel. He was a big part of her life; they had gone through so much together. But didn't she choose Piz over him? Wasn't him leaving a blessing in disguise for her? That's what Veronica went on, and her time with Piz only helped her belief.

He was good to her. With Logan, she anticipated a fight at least once a week, but with Piz, they rarely ever got into a fight that could compare to the ones with her ex. Piz put her first, even before his time with his friends. He never cancelled on her, and even went to art exhibits with very little complaining. He was already friends with Veronica's friends, and understood when Veronica needed to be on her own. He didn't push her to open up to her, and he never tested her, the way Logan always seemed to be doing.

Piz essentially was the perfect guy, the guy Veronica needed in her life; he brought her happiness, isn't that all anybody could ask for? So when it came time to get serious, or end it all, Veronica choose to get serious. And when Piz proposed, Veronica's yes came with almost no hesitation whatsoever.

Now, three months from that day, Veronica still hadn't looked back on her decision. How could she? Everything was perfect.

"What did you have in mind for lunch?" asked Veronica when they finished embracing.

"Well, it depends. How long can you take your lunch break?"

Veronica gave Piz a look. "I own the place, Piz. I choose my own lunch hours."

Piz gave her a smile. "Just making sure. Anyways, I was thinking we could try that new place over on Fourth Street for lunch."

"I feel like there's more to this than just lunch. Uh oh, Piznarski, did your other fiancé find out about me? Damn, looks like it's the end of us now, huh?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Mars. You can't get rid of me that easily. I was going to say that after lunch, I suggest we got back to our apartment."

Veronica grinned at her fiancé. "And why would we head home, in the middle of the day, when we both clearly still have work?"

Piz smirked. "Oh I don't know, I was thinking maybe for some alone time," he said suggestively, a smirk still plastered on his lips. "What do you say, Mars, you up for it?"

"How could I possibly say no?"

* * *

><p>Around the same time as Piz and Veronica headed to lunch, ten minutes away from them, Dick Casablancas' phone was going off. He could hear it going off from somewhere inside of his couch in his apartment. He quickly tore apart the couch in search of it, just in case it was his girlfriend calling. He found it two rings in, and looked at the caller I.D to confirm it was his girlfriend. It wasn't, however. Instead, the phone read that a number Dick did not recognize was calling it. Curious, he answered.<p>

"Hello?"

"I was afraid you weren't going to answer, Dick. You never were good at keeping track of your phone."

Dick knew that voice. He may have not heard it in a couple of years, but he sure as hell would recognize it even if it had been twenty years. "Logan Echolls."

"The one and only."

"I don't know if I should be all excited, or pissed at you for loosing contact with me." After Logan had left, he had promised Dick he would stay in contact with him, just in case Dick ever really needed him. But after only a mere two months, Logan noticed how find Dick was without him, and slowly stopped the contact between the two.

"Excited, obviously. Come on Dick, you can't be mad at me. I am calling, aren't I?"

"The hell I can't," mumbled Dick, almost too low for Logan to catch. "What are you calling for anyways?"

"To catch up, to shoot the breeze."

"Cut the bullshit, bro."

Dick could hear Logan laughing through the phone. "Seriously. To catch up. I'm coming back, and I thought we could meet up and-."

"Wait, wait, Logan, slow down. You're what?"

"I'm returning to Neptune. I'll be there tomorrow."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter:<strong> Veronica learns of Logan's return to Neptune!


	3. The Return

**I'm baaaaackk! Okay, so I know it's been a bit longer than a week, but at least it wasn't two weeks this time! It's so hard finding time to write this all out between school, sports, clubs, and friends, but I'm finding time just for you guys :)! Can I say that from all of your guys' reviews, I don't think any of you like Piz! That honestly surpises me. I thought there would be at least another Piz fan out there reading this, even if they didn't want him with Veronica. I also hope you guys are understanding what I'm trying to do by making Veronica with Piz; I'm trying to show how Veronica is different when she's with Piz, and with Logan returning, you guys will get to see more of the fiesty Veronica we all love :).**

**Anyways, enough rambling. Thank you so much to all you guys who reviewed! You're amazing, and I love you ;). Keep on reveiwing, and I'll keep writing. Your predictions/ideas/compliments/kind criticism is always welcomed!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two - The Return<strong>

The following morning, Veronica woke to find the bed she shared with her fiancé once again empty. She frowned; wasn't he doing the late shift a work today? She listened, and sure enough she could hear the faint sound of someone on the phone outside of her bedroom. Curious at who would be calling Piz this early, Veronica got out of bed to find her fiancé excitedly talking into the phone.

"That shouldn't be a problem…" was the first thing she heard out of his mouth. He was in mid pace, and turned to face Veronica, smiling as soon as he saw her. "Yeah, yeah, I can do that…I'll just have to talk to my work to get some time off…yeah, no seriously, this is a huge honor…I'll talk to you later then, Gen…alright, bye." Piz hung up the phone, a huge smile still plastered on his face. He turned his full attention to his fiancé, "Guess what!"

"Good morning, Veronica. How did you sleep? I slept fine, Piz, thank you for asking!"

Piz gave her a look. "Good morning, Veronica."

"Good morning, Piz," said Veronica, smiling. "Now let me guess…you just found out you have a long lost twin brother whose lives out in Hawaii?"

"You're hilarious, Mars. Now, that was actually Genevieve Williams, Desmond Fellows' manager."

"Desmond Fellows…as in the guy that sang at Hearst once, and with the help from you, restarted his career. That Desmond Fellows?"

"Yep."

"And his manager is contacting you?" Piz nodded his head enthusiastically. "What did she want?"

"Desmond is doing some documentary on his life, from his music to his solo career, and they want me to be the one to interview him during it! I guess they remembered the college kid who helped him get his life back on track after all."

Veronica didn't hesitate to jump into the arms of her fiancé. "That's amazing, Piz!" she said.

Piz smiled at how genuinely happy Veronica seemed for him, possibly not understanding that this opportunity meant. As if she could read his mind, or tell from the way he was hesitantly embracing her, Veronica pulled away from him to look at his face, and asked, "Is everything alright, Piz? This is a good thing…right?"

"Of course it is. It's just…Desmond grew up, and resides in Florida…halfway across the country from here. His management is willing to pay for my whole trip…it just means I'll be away from you." Any signs of happiness were slowly draining from Piz's face.

"Oh." Veronica's face fell too. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"A couple of weeks at most. They only want me to do a certain part of the documentary, and talk about him playing at Hearst."

Veronica was quiet for a moment. "Well that's not too long. We were going to do full a full summer away from each other in college, I'm sure we'll be fine being a couple of weeks apart."

"Why don't you just come to Florida with me?"

"You know I can't take a couple of weeks off from work, Piz. Not when we have a wedding sometime in the near future."

Piz sighed. "It was worth a shot. I don't want to be apart from you, especially when I went through to much effort to convince you to marry me." Piz grinned a small grin to hide his disappointment.

"It's only a few weeks. You love Desmond, and this is a huge opportunity for you, so don't tell me you don't want to do this. I'll be right here waiting for you when you get home. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Piz smiled at her. "God, how I love you."

Veronica smiled back. "I guess I'm such a loveable person," she said, pulling him in for a kiss.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe he's back."<p>

"Neither can I."

"I can't believe you're letting him _stay_ with you after all these years."

"_Neither can I_."

"Does anybody else know he's home?"

"I doubt it."

"Including Veronica?"

"I doubt Veronica has any clue."

Cindy 'Mac' Mackenzie sighed, falling down onto Dick's couch. He had called her immediately after Logan called him the day before and informed her that Logan would be staying at his place for a while.

Naturally, Mac wasn't sure what to say. She had come over that same night, spending the night at his place like she typically did.

"What did he even say to you when he called?"

"Nothing really. He said that he was back, that he was planning on staying for a while, and that he needed a place to stay."

"And you offered him your place?"

Dick shrugged. "What was I suppose to say? He let me stay with him when I needed someone at the most, and never once did he throw me out; it's only fair I return the favor."

"You do know that this means we won't have the place alone for most of the time now, right?"

Dick groaned. "Don't remind me."

After Logan had left Neptune, Dick didn't have anybody to depend on; the one person that has been there for him through it all had just gotten up and left him, just like everybody else did. Dick had lost the ground that held him up when Logan left, and he slowly started to feel himself fall apart, crumbling as the realization that nobody ever stayed with him settled into his mind…Until Mac stepped up. She could sense Dick falling apart, and for an unknown reason, Mac didn't want to see that. She stepped in and helped Dick keep his life on track; she made sure he didn't crumble after Logan's departure.

And unlike everyone else, Mac stayed. The idea of leaving Dick had never crossed her mind.

Sometime during their senior year of college, something had changed. The dynamic of Dick and Mac's relationship had changed from friends who were always there for each other to something else entirely. By the end of their senior year, Mac and Dick were official and they have been going strong since.

"When will he-" started Mac before a knock at the door had silenced her.

"Now."

Dick walked over to the door, and after a moment of hesitation, opened it to find Logan standing on the other side. He looked a couple of years older, yet more refreshed and relaxed than Dick has ever seen him. His eyes seemed brighter and happier, a lot different from the way they looked when Dick last saw him. He wore a simple pair of jeans, and a slightly wrinkled t-shirt. Stubble across Logan's usually smooth face finished off the new and improved looking Logan.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to invite me in?" joked Logan when Dick didn't speak.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Welcome to the Casablancas Pad."

Logan dropped his stuff next to the couch, noticing Mac's presence for the first time. "Mac?"

"Hey Logan," she mumbled.

Logan turned to Dick. "You and Mac are still friends, huh?"

"Well actually, we're…dating now," replied Dick, rubbing the back of his neck.

Logan was quiet for minute. "Wow, I didn't think you'd settle down with someone, Dick. Well congratulations to you guys."

"I'll leave you guys to catch up," said Mac, getting off the couch. She placed a quick kiss on Dick's lips. "Call me later, okay?" Dick nodded, and Mac opened the door to his apartment, leaving Dick and Logan alone for the first time in over five years.

"I'm guessing she wasn't too happy to see me, huh?" said Logan, a light tone of humor in his voice.

"Nah, she's just surprised to see you back after all these years. I am too. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Logan sighed. He knew coming back to where he grew up meant dealing with everything he left behind. "I really am sorry for leaving like that, Dick. You know that had nothing to do with you, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's whatever, man. It's cool. I'm over it."

"It's not cool, though. You were my best friend-hell, you still are- and I didn't consider that when I left. I'm sorry."

Dick looked at him for a moment. "Well you should be. You kind of just left me hanging. But that was five years ago, man, so enough with the click flick moment, okay?"

Logan laughed. It felt good knowing that Dick hadn't changed one bit. "Whatever you say."

"What brings you back here anyways, Logan? As much as I'd love to say it was because of me, we both know it wasn't."

Logan shrugged. "I moved around a lot in the past couple of years, and I just got tired. I was a few hours away from here when I was like 'Hey, why don't I go pay old Neptune a visit!' It was decided in the heat of the moment really."

Dick grinned. "Well it's good to have you back, Echolls…and I mean it."

Logan grinned back at him. "I thought you said no chick flick moments," he said, receiving a punch in the arm from Dick in response. Their friendship definitely hadn't changed, even after all the years.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Veronica found herself sitting at her desk, bored. She was grateful for the slow day at work; she finally had time to digest everything Piz had told her this morning. She was happy for him, she really was, but Veronica couldn't help but to feel guilty over the fact that she wasn't happy for him enough. Being three weeks away from her fiancé, especially when he has only been her fiancé for a few months, wasn't something she wanted to do.<p>

"Stop it, Veronica," she said out loud. "It's only three weeks. He'll leave, you'll find time to make yourself busy for three weeks, and he'll return. There's nothing else to it."

"Veronica Mars, talking to yourself now. Really?" Veronica looked up from her desk to find Wallace, her best friend, grinning at her from the doorway.

"Now? Fennell, you know I always talk to myself." She got up from behind her desk to give him a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Harassing you at work."

"Isn't it my job to harass you at your work?"

Wallace shrugged. "I though I'd mix it up. Actually, I came over here, on my lunch break for that matter, so yes, I'm giving up my lunch for you, to ask you out to drinks tonight. Just you and me because I never see you anymore, Mars. Or should I say Mrs. Piznarski."

"You just love making that joke, don't you?"

Wallace smirked at her. "It'll never get old."

"It got old after the first time you told it. No, strike that, before you even told it, it was old."

"Ouch. Now I don't know if I want to do out with you anyways."

Veronica made a face at her best friend. "Yes you do because you love me."

"Only because you force me to."

"Now look who's being sassy, Fennell," said Veronica, smiling. "But yes, I'd love to hangout with you."

"Good. I figured Piz would be all busy with making his plans for Florida, and I thought you could use some time with your amazing best friend."

Veronica smiled a genuine smile. "You know me too well."

"I know. It comes from all those years you had me doing your dirty work. The usual place at seven?"

"I'm there."

"Good. See you then, Mars. Or should I-"

"Don't even."

Wallace grinned, and Veronica felt her mood suddenly changing for the better.

* * *

><p>That night at seven, Veronica found herself kissing her fiancé goodbye as he rounded the second straight hour being on the phone to make accommodations for his trip, and driving to the usual bar and grill where she was meeting Wallace. As she was getting out of her car, Veronica heard the faint sound of her phone ringing from her bag. She pulled it out, smiling at the caller I.D.<p>

"Why hello there, Mac. I see we found time away from the boyfriend to call me?"

"And I see we found time away from the fiancé to answer! Yay for us!"

Veronica laughed. "What can I do for you? I'm about to meet Wallace."

"And you guys didn't invite me. I'm hurt, Veronica."

"Blame Wallace, he made the plans. You're welcome to join us!"

"Thanks, but I'll pass. I could use some quality alone time with my computer."

"Typical Mac. If you're not calling to hangout, then what's up?"

"I actually had some interesting news to tell you."

"Interesting as in computer kind of interesting, or as in criminal kind of interesting."

"Neither, actually."

"Really. Hmm…"

"You're not going to guess it." Veronica could hear her laughing on the other side.

"Then just tell me because I'm about to enter a bar."

"Logan Echolls is back in town." Mac's last statement caused Veronica to stop dead in her tracks right before she entered the bar. She couldn't have heard Mac correctly, right?

"What did you say?"

"I'm dead serious, Veronica. He's staying with Dick. I saw him with my own two eyes."

"But…why is he back? It's been five years, why would he want to return here?"

"Are we really asking ourselves that?"

"Oh shut up, Mac. If you're implying it has something to do with me, then you're wrong. How would he even know I'm still here?"

"I guess he was just hoping you were. And if you weren't, I'm sure he'd find a way to find you."

"Mac, no. Just stop talking. He's probably back for Dick or something."

"Yeah, I'm sure he's back after all these years to see the one person he abandoned the most when leaving." Veronica could sense that Mac wasn't happy with Logan's return, knowing fully what his departure did to the guy she loved.

"Whatever, I don't even want to think about this right now. I'm sure he missed his best friend, came back to see him, and will be out of here in a couple of days. I probably won't even see him while he's here. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to enter this bar, and have fun with Wallace."

"Whatever you say, Mars. Call me later?"

"If you're not too busy with your computer to answer."

"I'm never too busy for you!"

Veronica smiled as she hung up her phone. Why should learning that an old boyfriend of hers has returned to Neptune bother her?

She walked inside, spotting Wallace sitting at their typical table, flirting with a probably new waitress, almost right away. She smiled as she watched the auburn haired waitress rest her hand on Wallace's shoulder, laughing at something he said. Leave it to Wallace to flirt with a girl within only minutes of meeting her.

Veronica started to head toward Wallace when a figure sitting at the bar to the right of her caught her eye. Fearing what the pain in her gut was telling her, Veronica turned to see none other than Logan Echolls sitting at the bar. He may have been five years older since Veronica last saw him, but she would recognize him anywhere.

Veronica suddenly felt trapped. Did she go over and say hello to him? Completely ignore him and head over to Wallace?

Before she had the chance to make the decision, as if he could sense her presence, Logan looked up from his drink, and over towards Veronica's direction, making direct eye contact with her.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you guys think! Is anybody else happy I finally added Wallace, Mac&amp;Dick to my story? &amp;Oh, thoughts on Dick&amp;Mac being together? Love or hate? <strong> **Next chapter:** _Veronica and Logan talk for the first time in over five years._


	4. When The Past Meets the Present

_**A/N: **I'M SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO UPDATE! I have wrote, read, and rewrote this chapter too many times to count! I wanted it to be perfect, and while I do feel it's far from perfect, I think I'm quite content on how it came out :). _

_Thank you to everyone who's reviwed/favorited/story alearted this story! It's you guys who are keeping me working hard on this story! :)._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three- When the Past Meets the Present<strong>

The first thing she noticed was his looks. His hair was a bit longer and shaggier than she remembered, and Veronica concluded that it was a sign that Logan's grooming became a less important priority if he had really started traveling, like he said he would, once he left Neptune. The clearly visible stubble on his face only further proved Veronica's theory. Logan had never been on the more built side (though that didn't mean he wasn't strong for his size), but five years away did his build some good; Veronica could notice just how big his arms were, even through the light grey sweater he wore. She also couldn't help but to notice how well the blue jeans Logan wore fit him perfectly, jeans that definitely cost a lot more than jeans a working man like her fiancé could afford, and she was certain that Logan must have still had a pretty penny to his name.

The first thing Logan did when he noticed Veronica was smirk. It was the same bombastic, yet innocent-like smirk he constantly gave Veronica back when they were teenagers, and Veronica felt a small twinge of happiness knowing that not everything about Logan's appearance had changed; he would always have the same boyish smile.

Logan put down the almost empty glass he was twirling, and spun his bar stool fully around in order to get a better look at Veronica. The smirk never fell from his face.

"Veronica Mars," he said, still smirking. "Unbelievable."

Veronica smiled, biting onto her bottom lip, a habit she didn't remember ever doing before. She quickly glanced over at Wallace, who still had his waitress engrossed in a conversation, unknown to Veronica and Logan's presence. "Logan Echolls," she finally replied.

"The one and only." Logan had gotten off from his bar stool; it seems like he was determined on continuing this conversation. Along with Logan's new physique, he had grown a couple of inches more, and now towered over the five-foot-one blonde in front of him. As if he could sense something being off, Wallace finally looked away from his new interest and noticed Veronica for the first time. His eyes followed to where Veronica was staring, and was it with the shock of seeing Logan Echolls.

"Oh shit," he muttered to himself, blinking a couple of times to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. Logan Echolls was back? "Erm, Veronica, over here," he yelled a little louder. Veronica looked over at Wallace, and the duo made direct contact, and Wallace could tell how surprised Veronica was by this new realization as well.

Logan looked over at Wallace and then back at Veronica. "I see the crime fighting duo is still together. I won't keep him waiting," he said, motioning for Veronica to go join him. "It was…nice seeing you, Veronica."

Logan gave Veronica one last smile, before turning back to his seat at the bar. Veronica started towards Wallace, but stopped herself. Before she knew what she was doing, she called over to him, "Hey Logan?" she waited until he turned his back in her direction. "You wanna, um, join us maybe? Catch up?"

Logan's face slowly broke out into a smile. "Veronica Mars, looking to socialize with the likes of me? Wow, I must have missed a lot."

Veronica smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't get use to it; call it your welcoming party."

Both were quite for a second. "I would love to join you and Mr. Fennel over there. Let me just get a refill." Logan once again turned back to the bar, motioning over the bartender, as Veronica headed over to join Wallace.

"Is that-" started Wallace.

"Yes," said Veronica, nodding.

"What is he-?"

"I have no clue." Veronica sat down in the chair across from him. "What I do know is that he's coming over to join us."

"You invited him over here?"

Veronica shrugged. "Yeah, why not."

Wallace shook his head as Logan approached the table. "I guess I'm in for an interesting night," he mumbled to himself, too low for Veronica to hear over the noise surrounding them.

"Wallace Fennel. It's, um, good to see you," said Logan as he approached them. Wallace stood up to shake his hand, a gesture that felt awkward for all three. Wallace has never exactly hated Logan, but they were never really friends, either. He tolerated him because he knew how much Logan meant to Veronica when they were teenagers.

"Yeah…you too, Logan. Here, sit." Wallace motioned for Logan to sit in the seat between Veronica and him. Wallace wasn't sure how to exactly feel. It had been five years; Logan has to have matured a lot…right? Veronica would always be Wallace's best friend, but he couldn't help but to think of his other friend, Piz. He knew Veronica loved him (why else would they be engaged?), but Logan _was _a big part of her past…

Wallace shook away the idea. What Logan and Veronica shared was hard to top, but that was back in their college years, not now…

"So Logan," said Veronica, pulling Wallace out of his thoughts, "what exactly are you doing back in Neptune, anyways?"

"Yeah," said Wallace, "I thought five years ago would be the last time we saw you."

Logan laughed. "You're probably the sixth person to ask me that today. I was a couple of towns over, when I just had this sudden urge to come home. I can't really explain it, other than it was a bad case of a noglastic feeling to visit the town I grew up on." He shrugged when he finished talking.

"What could you possibly miss about this place?" asked Veronica, scoffing.

Logan looked at her, and the duo made direct eye contact, both unable to look away from each other. It was Veronica who broke it a moment later, letting her eyes travel anywhere other than Logan's face. Even while looking down at her drink, Veronica could still notice that the small smile that grew on Logan's lips wasn't pretentious like his smirk, but rather a more carefree and softer smile, one Veronica rarely ever saw back in the day. "There are some things I could miss," he softly said after another moment.

Wallace looked back and forth from the two, rolling his eyes. He was sure he was in for a trip down memory lane tonight.

* * *

><p>"Do you remember the time you put a bong in my locker?"<p>

Veronica, who was taking a sip from her drink, chocked out a laugh. "I forgot about that! You were so pissed!"

"You framed me for drug possession; how was I suppose to feel!" asked Logan, laughing himself.

"Didn't you end up smashing her headlights on her car for revenge anyways?" asked Wallace, himself smiling. He couldn't help it; a carefree feeling had been surrounding them for over an hour now, and Wallace couldn't help but to join in with them.

Veronica mock glared at Logan. "Hey you did, didn't you? Jackass!"

Logan threw his arms up, as if claiming innocence. "That was a long time ago! I learned not to be such a jackass, didn't I?"

"Barley," said Veronica, causing Logan to look surprised. She and Wallace both laughed.

"I'm hurt, Mars!"

"Poor baby. You'll get over it."

It was Logan's turn to laugh. "Besides, if I remember correctly, your little friend Weevil dented my car in return."

Veronica shrugged, smiling. "You kinda did deserve it. And it wasn't even your car anyways!"

Logan threw his hands up once again, this time to show defeat. "Alright, alright, you win; I was a huge jackass during high school."

"Finally, you admit it," said Veronica, laughing. "Now if you excuse me you two, the bathroom is calling my name."

Veronica slid off her chair and headed off to the bathroom, leaving the two boys sitting in silence.

Wallace broke it first. "So, uh, how long are you staying here for?"

Logan shrugged. "I don't know yet. As long as it takes until Dick kicks me out."

"You're staying with Dick?" Wallace asked, surprise leaking through his voice.

"Why is everyone so surprised by that too?"

"You…didn't see Dick after you left."

Logan couldn't help but to flinch; it still bothered him how he didn't think of how his departure would affect his oldest friend. "Yeah, so I've heard. Look, I didn't mean to hurt him or anything, it's just that…well…"

"You had to get out of here, yeah, I know man," said Wallace shrugging. "I, uh, get it. Maybe you leaving did some good for him…no offence to you of course! I'm not saying he was bad or anything while you were here, it's just…"

"Yeah, no, I get it. He was able to actually make some closer friends who weren't as screwed up as him. Hell, even settle down I see."

Wallace laughed. "Trust me, Dick and Mac getting together was a huge surprise for all of us too. You should have seen Veronica's face when Mac told us!"

Logan let out a laugh. "I can imagine."

"Where is Dick tonight anyways?"

"He felt bad for ditching Mac tonight so he went over to her place to surprise her. I'm sure she wasn't too happy to learn I was staying with him."

Wallace laughed. "That sounds about right. Don't underestimate Mac; she can be almost as scary as Veronica when she's ticked."

Logan laughed. "That doesn't surprise me. I knew there was a reason those two were friends."

Wallace laughed. He took another sip of his drink, suddenly glad he decided to hangout with Veronica tonight. His thoughts on Piz's reaction if he found out Logan was back were far from his mind.

* * *

><p>Veronica took one final look in the mirror in the bathroom, trying to make sense of everything that had transpired tonight. Logan was back, and although she was surprised at his return, she found herself more surprised how much fun she was having with him tonight. She's imagined his return into her life before; she imagined it as awkward and tense, or him not really giving a damn whether he saw her again or not. She's even imagined, back around the time when he first left of course, him being engaged or married when they saw each other, making Veronica feel better about moving on. But this reappearance? This was nothing that she expected, nothing she was prepared for. It was carefree and enjoyable, rather than awkward and full of anger. They were <em>laughing<em>, instead of yelling.

"Get a hold of yourself, Veronica," she said out loud to herself. "It's a good thing that he's happy to see you. Maybe this time, you guys can actually stay in touch."

Veronica scoffed. _Yeah, right_.

She turned the faucet on to wash her hands, but stopped short when she got a good look on her left hand. There on her ring finger, sat her engagement ring. She had forgotten she was wearing it, but now looking at it, her hand suddenly felt heavy, as if it couldn't support wearing the ring anymore. Staring at it for another moment, she decided to pull it off, putting the ring away into her purse, out of sight.

* * *

><p>"Took you long enough, Mars," said Wallace as Veronica reproached the table.<p>

"Sorry, womanly duties call."

"Ah, ah, too much information!" said Wallace, as Logan and himself both brought up their hands to their ears.

Veronica shook her head. "You big babies. What did I miss?"

Logan shrugged. "Nothing much, just talking about you of course."

"Ah, bad things I presume?"

"Of course!" said Logan. "What else would we say?"

The trio continued on with their back and forth banter, and their memories of their mostly high school years for another two hours before Logan's phone went off and he excused himself from the table.

"So tonight was surprising," said Wallace once Logan had left.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to hangout and do what best friends in their mid twenties do, Wallace."

"It's all good, Mars. I actually had fun tonight."

Veronica acted surprised. "Fun? With Logan Echolls? Well that's a first!"

"You know the saying: there's a first time for anything."

"You wanna ask him out on a date now?"

Wallace scoffed. "Please. I don't want your leftovers, Mars…not when I can get my own fresh meat," he finished, catching sight of the waitress from earlier. He winked at her when she looked over at him, causing Veronica to burst into laughter.

"Typical Wallace."

"Don't hate. You love me."

Veronica sighed dramatically. "I know, sadly."

"Speaking of love," said Wallace, changing the subject, "I noticed something's missing. From your left hand, to be exact."

Veronica looked down at her hands. "Oh, yeah. The ring's in my purse. I just, uh, didn't want to loose it tonight, especially when it had to cost Piz a pretty penny."

"You didn't want to loose it…or you didn't want certain people to see it?"

Veronica looked over at Wallace. "Come on, that's stupid, Wallace. I love Piz; why would I hide that from people? I just don't want to loose it."

Wallace shrugged. "Just asking," he said, not telling Veronica that he saw it on her hand earlier, before she was with Logan.

A moment later, Logan returned to the table. "Hey, sorry, that was Dick calling to check on me, I guess. I probably should get going."

"You're staying with Dick?" Veronica asked. "I'm sure Mac loves that."

Logan laughed. "Wallace and I already established that." He grabbed his coat off the back of his chair.

"I think I'm going to call it a night, too," said Veronica. "I have to get up early tomorrow for a case I'm working on."

"I still can't believe you own your business," said Logan. "I always thought that you'd be off in the FBI."

Veronica shrugged. "The FBI was interesting, but it just wasn't for me."

"Well you two can call it a night, but that lovely little waitress over there is calling for my attention," said Wallace, smirking. "If you two will excuse me." Wallace got up from his seat and headed in the direction of where the waitress stood next to the bar.

Veronica smiled. "That's Wallace for you." Veronica grabbed her own coat off her chair, and looked back at Logan.

"I'll, uh, walk you out I guess," said Logan, following as Veronica headed to the door. She opened the door that leads outside, only to get hit with a slight breeze causing the California native to shiver slightly.

Logan, noticing this, laughed. "I don't think the FBI was right for you because it's too cold in Virginia for you to handle."

Veronica turned to glare at Logan. "I just wasn't expecting for it to actually be a little chilly tonight, that's all!"

"Mmhm, sure. Face it, Mars, you may have hated it here when we were younger, but you'll always love the warm California sun."

Veronica continued to glare at him. "Shut up, Logan. Don't ruin a good night by aggravating me."

Logan smiled a genuine smile. "Tonight was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it was…surprisingly."

"Surprisingly?" Logan asked, curiously.

"You're not surprised we didn't get into some stupid fight?"

Logan shrugged. "We're older, more mature…well at least, you are. I think we're capable of having a nice conversation without fighting."

The duo was now rounding into the parking lot next to the building. "I'm parked here," said Veronica as they reached her car. "Thanks for the escort to my car."

Logan laughed, and bowed slightly. "Anytime, my dear," he said, causing Veronica to smile. "I'll see you around, Veronica," he finished, giving her one of his genuine, boyish smiles.

"Yeah. See you around, Logan," said Veronica, herself smiling. That smile didn't fade from her face, either, long after Logan had walked away to his own car.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what'd you think! I decided to make Wallace the single one in this story so I would have a chance to play around with my own OC characters for him ;)<strong>


	5. The Aftermath

_**I'M SO SORRY I SUCK AT UPDATING! My goal was to have this up, like last week, but of course, I never meet my time goals, do I? Anyways, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. There are parts where I'm really happy about how it came out, and others where I feel like it's a bit shaky. Please don't be afraid to tell me your opinion, though!**_

**_Thank you to all of those reviewing/favoriting/alerting this story. It means so much to me :')._**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 - The Aftermath<strong>

Her mind still trying to wrap itself around the night's events, Veronica walked through the door of her apartment shortly after leaving Logan. She was still trying to convince herself that tonight was not just a figment of her imagination; that Logan was really back, when a voice coming from the other room caused her to come back to present time.

"Oh Good, you're home," said Piz, walking in from the living room, the latest Chuck Palahniuk novel in his hand. He bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. "How was Wallace? And make sure to tell him I'm hurt I was not invited, by the way."

Veronica smiled. "Poor baby. Wallace is good. He and the waitress hit it off quite nicely."

Piz let out a laugh. "Of course he did. Was the night uneventful then, with Wallace distracted?"

Veronica found herself thinking back to the night she just had. "Actually no. I, um…kept myself entertained."

Piz's hands found Veronica's and the duo's fingers interlaced. "Well I'm glad you had some fun, while I spent my night dealing with these last minute preparations."

"Have you figured out when you're leaving?"

Piz winced; definitely not a good sign. "In, um, two days."

"Two days?" asked Veronica in disbelief. "Wow, they're wasting no time," she added, laughing a bit to hide her disappointment.

Piz notices, of course. "I'll be back before you know it," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. Veronica's head bobbed up and down in agreement. "You won't even have time to miss me."

"You sure about that? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'll be spending all my time missing you."

Piz laughed. "With people like Wallace and Mac here to keep you occupied, the time will fly. Can't say it won't be the same for me, though," said Piz, pouting.

Veronica would have spoken up to protest; to tell him that nothing could distract her from the noticeable absent of him when he's away, but thinking back to the night's events once again, about the return of Logan. Veronica found she could only nod her head in agreement, and plaster a distracted smile onto her face.

* * *

><p>Around the same time, Logan himself was entering into Dick's apartment, a genuine smile plastered onto his face.<p>

"Someone looks happy," said Dick, who was surprisingly sitting alone on his couch.

"Not a bad night," replied Logan. "Where's Mac?"

"Just missed her. She headed home for the night."

"I thought she'd be spending the night, considering you two are dating and everything."

Dick shrugged. "She thought it'd be better to leave us alone for the night. Something about 'bro time'? I don't know, just be glad she's in a better mood than she was earlier when she first saw you."

Logan laughed. "She's definitely still friends with Veronica."

Dick starred for a moment at Logan. "What did you do tonight, Logan?"

Logan slid down onto the seat next to the couch, still smiling. "I, uh, ran into Veronica and Wallace tonight. They ended up asking if I wanted to sit with them, and we kinda just hung out all night. I got to catch up with Veronica." Before stopping himself, Dick groaned. "What? What's so wrong with seeing Veronica and Wallace?"

"Dude, catch up with Wallace all you want, but _Veronica_? You _had_ to catch up with Veronica?"

"What's so bad about that?"

"Are we forgetting everything that happened in high school, everything that followed you to college? Hell, are we forgetting about the whole reason you left Neptune five years ago? You catching up with Veronica Mars never ends well."

"Well it ended fine tonight!"

"Why am I having trouble believing that?"

Logan scoffed. "Since when did you become so caring about who I talk to?"

"Don't change the subject! And besides, it's obvious what you and Veronica do to each other; I wasn't blind back in high school!"

Logan threw up his hands to claim innocence. "It's not like anything happened! Veronica and I are older, more mature; we can hang out while I'm here."

"Uh huh, and what did you guys talk about."

Logan shrugged. "Her life, mine, Wallace's. Stuff that old _friends_ talk about when catching up. There's nothing to it."

Dick gave Logan a look. "You're telling me that you didn't even get slightly upset when you found out?"

Logan opened his mouth to ask about what he supposedly found out, but the duo's conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Hey, sorry guys, but I left my phone here," said Mac as she entered. Taking one look at Dick and Logan, whose faces said she was interrupting a pressing conversation, Mac paused. "Am I interrupting something?"

Logan went to utter a no, but Dick spoke before he could. "Guess who Logan hung out with tonight."

Mac looked back and forth from Dick and Logan when it hit her. "You hung out with _Veronica_? _Veronica?_ Really?"

Logan threw his hands up again. "Why does everybody assume it's so bad that I hung out with her!"

"Because everybody knows of your guys' past!" said Mac. "I should've known that when I told Veronica you were back, you guys would somehow find each other."

"Look, nothing happened, okay? We hung out, talked, went down memory lane, and both said goodbye. That's it!"

Mac looked at Dick. "Is he really that cool with everything in Veronica's life?"

"That's what I was asking about before you entered."

"'Cause there's no way he isn't even slightly upset."

"That's what I was thinking!"

"Well, unless he really has matured."

"Hi," said Logan, interrupting them, "Can we stop talking about me like I'm not right here, and tell me what exactly I should be upset about involving Veronica?"

Dick looked at him, as if the answer was obvious. "…About her engagement?"

"_She's engaged?"_ exclaimed Logan, clearly surprised.

"…To Piz?" finished Mac.

"_To Piz?_ As in Piznarski, from _college!_?"

Mac and Dick looked at each other. "You didn't know?" they both said in unison.

Logan didn't reply. "Piznarski, really? You're shitting me, right?"

Dick shook his head. "She didn't tell you? She didn't tell you. Unbelievable," said Mac, mostly to herself.

Logan, whose face was full of surprise, quickly drained of any emotion. "Okay, so she's engaged; it's just another reason on why we can hang out while I'm still around and not have you guys worrying about us." Dick and Mac looked at each other. "Will you two stop doing that," finished Logan.

Mac shook her head. "Alright, I'm leaving. Veronica's my best friend, and I cannot just sit here and pick apart her relationship. Besides, I need to talk to her anyways." Mac picked up her phone from off the couch. "She's happy, okay? Don't screw with that." Mac grabbed her bad, and placed a quick peck on Dick's lips before heading back out. Once outside the apartment, she opened her cell phone and dialed a number she knew by heart.

"I was started to think you were going to bail on our plan to talk later," said Veronica as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Oh no, this is not a time for jokes. We need to talk."

"Uh oh. What happened? Did Dick do something?"

"No. This is about what you did by hanging out with Logan Echolls tonight."

"Oh. That."

"Yeah, that."

Back in Veronica's apartment, Veronica, who was sitting in her living room with her fiancé, quickly got up to take the phone call into her bedroom. "Look it was no big deal. After you called, I ended up seeing him at the bar, and he ended up sitting with Wallace and me."

"And you just happened to forget to mention an important detail, like oh I don't know, that you're _engaged_...to the guy he beat up in college…because of _you_."

Veronica bit her lip. "It kinda just never came up. I wasn't going to be like, 'Oh yeah, I remember that day, it was so much fun. You know what other day I remember? The day I got _engaged to Stosh_!' It's not something that you just blurt out," Veronica whispered furiously into the phone.

Mac sighed. "Well Dick and I may have just blurted it out to him, anyways."

"_What?"_

"Yeah, Logan knows."

Veronica sighed, and although she tried to hide it, Mac heard. "Well, whatever. It's not like him knowing means anything. It doesn't change a single thing."

"Does Piz know?" Mac asked suddenly.

"What?"

"You heard me. Does Piz know that not only Logan's back, but you saw him tonight?"

"Erm…well no."

"Exactly."

"That's not something you just blurt out either! Especially when he's leaving for three weeks in two days!"

"So when is the right time to tell him that his fiancé's ex, the one guy who's threatened your relationship with Piz, is back in town, and is already looking to see you?"

"Look, Mac, Logan being back changes nothing. Understand? It changes nothing. I'll go tell Piz right now if you want me to! If Logan stays in town, then great. We can work on the friendship we never really had. If he doesn't, then whatever. He can leave again, it doesn't matter; life will go back to the way it has been for the past five years."

Mac sighed. "Alright, Veronica, whatever you say."

"Talk to me tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Veronica hung up, and sighed. If everyone was so worried about Piz finding out, then fine, she would go tell him herself. But when she entered the living room and her fiancé looked up at her, smiling, and asked who called, Veronica found herself telling him that it was only Mac before sitting down next to him, not uttering another word.

* * *

><p>Around the same time, Logan and Dick found themselves sitting in Dick's apartment, watching TV in complete silence. After Mac left, any conversation revolving around Veronica dropped, leaving the duo in silence. Dick didn't want to pry, but he knew Logan better than anyone else, even if he had not seen him in five years; he knew Logan had more to say. He just needed to let Logan say it on his own terms.<p>

Finally, after almost an hour of silence, Logan finally spoke up. "It's not even the fact that she is engaged," he said quietly. "If she's happily engaged, then whatever; she deserves to be happy, ya know? After all the crap in her life, she deserves a chance to be happy. And it's not like I was waiting around for her or anything; I _left_ to move on from her. One night of hanging out isn't going to change anything. What we had is history."

"But," said Dick when Logan paused for a moment.

"But," continued Logan, "she's with Piz. A guy she met in college, in this town. When we were still in school, all Veronica talked about was getting out of here, seeing what the rest of the world was like. She talked about going somewhere where nobody knew her best friend was killed, or any of the other drama Neptune carried. But instead, she stayed here, got engaged to someone from _here_. It just doesn't sound like the Veronica I knew better than almost anyone."

"So what are you going to do now? You're not going to turn into some white knight in shinning armor and screw up her relationship, are you? 'Cause I can't help with something like that," asked Dick.

Logan gave Dick a look. "I'm not going to do anything. I told you, we're the past; she and Piz are the future. They're just a future that I never pictured for her. I…now that I'm back, I just want to be in her life…as a friend. We never really did the whole friend thing, and I think now that we're older and stuff, we might as well try."

Dick starred at Logan for a minute. "You really just want to see her happy," he said finally, his tone serious.

"Yeah, yeah I do," replied Logan, before getting off the couch to head to the bathroom, ending that conversation for the night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So thoughts? Do you guys think Veronica and Logan really just want to try and be friends, or are they in utter and complete denial? ;). <strong>_

_**Next Chapter: **Piz leaves for his trip, and Veronica and Logan get together again._


	6. A New Leaf

**_Eep, so I would have had this up earlier if I hadn't misplaced the flash drive that this draft was on :x. Anyways, it's here, and I'm actually pleased with this for once :). _**

**_Thank you so, so much for everyone reviewing/putting it as a favorite. You guys inspire me to keep up with this idea! Keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing (hopefully faster too)!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five - A New Leaf<strong>

The next two days seemed to fly for Veronica, and early on Sunday morning, she found herself outside standing next to her fiancé's car, facing the moment she had been dreading. It was a particularly cool day for Neptune, and although it was only drizzling now, the sky threatened to release a thunder storm any minute now. Veronica took the weather as a sign that not even Mother Nature wanted to see him go.

Piz finished putting his last suitcase in the back of his car, and closed the trunk. Even though Veronica was attempting to hold an umbrella over both of them, they were still getting hit with rain. He stood up and turned to Veronica. "I guess that's everything," he said.

"Yeah…"

"Yep…"

They were both stalling for time. Piz didn't like the idea of being away from Veronica for so long, and Veronica just didn't want to see him go. She placed the umbrella on the trunk of the car as Piz's hands found Veronica's. "I can stay you know," he weakly said.

"No you can't. This is too important to you," replied Veronica.

Piz sighed. "I know." Veronica let go of his hands to lean up and pull him into a hug. Piz's arms quickly wrapped around her slender frame, and Piz found himself not wanting to let go of her. He feared that once he did, his absence from her life, no matter how short in the grand scheme of things it was, would be too real for him to handle. His lips found hers a moment later, and he pulled her into a passionate kiss, kissing her as if it was the last time he would be able to.

It was Veronica who pulled away from the kiss first. Piz leaned his head down so his forehead rested against hers for just a second before Veronica pulled back. A sad smile was plastered on both of their faces, as Piz's hands found hers once again.

"Are you sure you can't come?" he asked hopefully, although he already knew the answer.

Veronica didn't speak, only giving him another sad smile. "Call me as soon as you land.

Piz nodded. "And every moment I can." Veronica squeezed his hands in reply. I'll miss you," he whispered to her.

"I'll miss you too." Veronica could feel the rain slowly picking up, and although both were getting quite wet, neither wanted to leave this moment.

Finally, Piz sighed. "I'll see you soon."

"Goodbye, Piz." Piz leaned to place another small kiss on Veronica's lips, before walking to his car door. Veronica watched as he started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot of their apartment complex. More sadness washed over her as Veronica realized it was going to be three weeks, twenty-one days, without seeing him, without embracing him, without _him_.

Veronica sighed. "It's only three weeks, Veronica," she said to herself. "You'll be fine." She and Piz have been apart before. And weren't they planning to spend the summer back in college away from each other? Veronica did not understand why him leaving now left her with an uneasy feeling, and a fear of being apart from him.

She shook her weary feelings away and headed back inside. Her apartment felt empty, which left Veronica with sadness washing over her, and she picked up her phone to call Wallace. She received no answer, so Veronica dialed her father's cell, only to remember that he really didn't have a day off, and was most likely working. She thought of calling Mac, but stopped herself before doing so. For the past two days, any conversation she and Mac have had always led to Veronica not telling Piz Logan was back. Veronica wasn't really in the mood to admit to Mac that she still had not actually _told_ Piz that Logan was back, even though Veronica assured her she would.

Finally, after spending ten minutes looking for something to distract her, only to find no escape, Veronica picked up her keys and drove over to Mars Investigations. Her work was usually closed on Sundays, giving Veronica a much needed break from the evil that usually walked through her doors, but today Veronica was looking for any distraction away from the empty feeling she had.

* * *

><p>Around the same time, Logan found himself wandering the streets of Neptune. Dick had Mac over, and even though neither of them said it, Logan could tell they were sick of having him in the apartment with them, when they clearly wanted to be alone. Logan tried thinking of something else he could occupy his time with, but being back in town for only a week for the first time in five years, did not leave Logan with many people to interact with, or many things to do. He cursed that it had to be raining the one day he decided to go out for a walk.<p>

He was wandering for a good twenty minutes, with no sense of direction of where he was going, when he found himself in front of a small building with a sign labeled with various different company names. One of them read Mars Investigations.

Logan starred up at the building. He had thought about looking to contact Veronica again after the hung out a couple of nights ago, but something always stopped him. He wasn't sure if Veronica even wanted to see him again, so why bother? But then again, something had brought him here…right? The sign on the door read open, meaning Veronica was surely there, and he did have nothing else to do…

He spent another moment starring at the building before shrugging his shoulders, and running up the front steps. He closed his umbrella once inside, and walked down the hall that lead to the actual door of the company.

He slowly opened the door to peak his head in. Sure enough, Veronica was there, sitting behind her desk, her head buried in a pile of papers. She was starring intensively at the paper, as if somehow hoping the words would either fly off the paper, or magically change. Logan found himself smiling. It felt good knowing Veronica still threw herself deep into her work.

Starting to feel like a pepping tom for just starring at her, Logan cleared his throat. Veronica picked her head up from her work and looked at him. "Oh…hey," she said after a second delay.

Logan smiled, opening the door to the room fully to walk in. "Hey. I was out walking when I noticed a company here with such a _familiar _name, and thought I might as well pop in and say hi."

Veronica couldn't help herself; she smiled. "Why were you walking? It's pouring out there."

Logan shrugged. "I could tell Mac and Dick wanted to be left alone, and I didn't feel like filling up my car, so I walked. It's not raining that badly anymore. Why are you working on a Sunday? Don't most people take today off?"

"I was bored at home, so I decided to come here."

Logan laughed, shaking his head. "You get bored…so you come to work? Veronica Mars, you just can't stop fighting crime for one day, can you?"

Veronica smiled. "Somebody has to do it."

Logan looked at his watch. It read 12:24, and almost as if on cue, he felt his stomach grumble slightly. Without thinking of what he was about to ask, Logan spoke again: "What else do you have planned for today?"

Veronica gave Logan a look. "Nothing, thus me coming into work. Why?"

Logan shrugged. "I'm starving, and I'm sure you probably are too. You up for grabbing a quick bite to eat?"

Veronica bit her lip and glanced over at the time her laptop read. She hadn't eaten anything all day, and although she had been attempting to distract herself, she couldn't ignore her stomach's desire for food. "Um," she started before stopping, trying to weigh her options.

"Come on," urged Logan when she didn't continue. "At least get some coffee with me. You seem to be forgetting how well I know you. When you throw yourself into your work, you essentially forget about the essentials-like eating." Veronica laughed in spite of herself. Logan smiled: "And I know you need your daily fixes of caffeine."

"I'm trying to cut back, you know," she said to Logan, standing up.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't." Logan wasn't sure why he was pushing her so hard to come out with him, other than the fact he had a strong desire to spend more time with her. He couldn't deny that he had found himself with an overwhelming desire to get to know the Veronica he had known as a teenager again, even just as friends. "I'm buying," he added, throwing in his boyish smile.

Veronica placed her hands on her hips. After a moment, she let out a small sigh, yet couldn't hide the smile forming on her lips. "Fine, you win. There's a good coffee shop just down the street from here." She grabbed her coat from the coat rack and quickly threw it on. "Come on, we'll take my car."

"Or we could walk?" suggested Logan.

"There's just one slight problem, Logan; it's raining."

Logan gave her a look. "Really? I did not know that! It's not even raining that badly. Is Miss. Mars afraid of a little rain?"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Glad to know you haven't full matured." Logan only smirked at her in response. "I don't have my umbrella on me, you know."

Logan shrugged once more. "We'll share mine then. Ready to go?"

Veronica looked over at Logan, who looked genuinely happy for a change, and without thinking more of it, followed Logan out the door, locking it behind her.

When the duo reached outside, the skies were still grey, but the rain was showing signs of stopping, and the weather clearing up.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Veronica and Logan found themselves sitting across from each other in a coffee shop. Their conversation was light, not as carefree as before, but more rather formal, as if <em>this<em> was the first time they had spoken in five years.

"How long are you staying in town?" asked Veronica.

Logan shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it. I can see me sticking around for a while, though. Once you enter this town, it seems to just suck you in."

Veronica gave him a polite smile. The conversation between the two of them continued like this for a while.

It wasn't until Veronica lifted her coffee up with her left hand, rather than right, when Logan noticed something different about her hand. Today, unlike Friday night, Veronica was wearing her engagement ring. Logan remembered his conversation with Dick and Mac last night. "Nice ring," said Logan, pointing to her hand. There was no emotion in his voice when he spoke.

Veronica looked down at her hand, suddenly feeling like the ring was big; that everyone around them could easily spot it. She wasn't sure why, but Veronica had a sudden urge to hide it, to draw attention away from it. "Oh, yeah, um…"

"Stosh, right?"

"What?"

"Piz, the guy from college? He proposed, right? Mac told me." Veronica wasn't sure, but she thought she was sensing bitterness within Logan's words.

Veronica made a mental note to kill Mac. "Yeah, um, he did." She was feeling awkward and shy now, two feelings Veronica Mars never felt. She wanted to change the subject from her engagement.

"When did he propose?"

"It was three months ago as of last week."

Logan nodded his head. "Do you guys have a set date yet."

Veronica didn't like all the questions about her engagement, and she especially did not like _this_ one. They didn't have a set date, not even a particular month in mind. It was a touchy subject for her and Piz. It wasn't that they fought about a date, but it seemed that any date Piz suggested to her, Veronica found something wrong with it. She didn't mean to be picky, but it was her wedding day after all. The day they got married should be perfect. To Piz, any day was perfect if it meant getting married. Veronica, on the other hand, wasn't so sure.

Veronica bit her lip once more. "We don't actually." Veronica took a sip of her coffee. _Definitely _feeling uncomfortable.

Logan looked at her with genuine shock. "Don't most couples pick a day within the first month or so?"

"Yeah, well we haven't."

"Why not?"

"Because…we're still deciding, okay?" Irritation seeped through Veronica's words now.

Logan threw his hands up as if claiming innocence. "Alright, alright." The two were silence for a minute, not sure what to say next. _You pushed this far_, Logan thought to himself, _might as well ask the one question you've been wondering…_ "How did it, um, happen? How did he propose?"

Veronica closed her eyes. "Um, well he had been hinting at marriage for a while, and one night while we were eating Chinese food in our apartment, he got down on one knee, smiled at me, and said 'what do you have to lose?' And that's that."

Something about the story didn't sit right with Logan, however. He felt slight irritation and anger wash over him. "What do you have to lose? You said yes to him because you have 'nothing to lose'?"

Veronica could sense when Logan was irritated. Five years apart from him wouldn't change that. As if on instinct, Veronica found herself irritated that he was irritated. "It's not like that! There's so much more to it."

"Like what? You had nothing better to do here in Neptune that today and that was your best option? Jesus, Veronica."

Now Veronica was mad. She stood up from the table, grabbing her coat from the back of her chair. "I should get back to work. Bye, Logan."

She abruptly left the coffee shop, heading back towards her office. She was exasperated at the thought of someone picking her engagement apart, never mind Logan. It was her engagement. If she and Piz were happy, then that's all that matters.

Sure enough, Veronica did not make it ten feet away from the shop until she heard Logan calling after her.

"Veronica, wait! Just stop walking for two seconds, okay?" Veronica still did not stop, and Logan jogged to catch up with her. He reached out and grabbed her arm right under her elbow to spin her around.

"Let go of me, Logan," said Veronica through gritted teeth.

"Will you just stop and talk to me for two seconds! God, why do you always have to run away?"

"I'm not running away; I'm choosing to end this conversation."

"Which is what I call running away."

Veronica glared at Logan and tugged her arm away from his grip. Logan willingly let go, now positive that Veronica wouldn't run away. She didn't run away from a fight, definitely not with him. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to you pick apart my engagement when you know nothing about it."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was basing my thoughts off of the Veronica I knew in college."

"Exactly. The Veronica you _knew_. The Veronica now is in engaged, and _happy_."

Logan ran a hand threw his hair, feeling bad that he already broke his promise to himself. Veronica claimed she was happy with Piz, so who is he to pick apart a relationship he knows nothing about? Even after five years, Logan still didn't like the feeling of being someone to anger Veronica like he was doing now. "You're right, the Veronica I knew probably is different from the Veronica now, just like the Logan you knew is different now as well-"

Veronica threw up her hand as if telling Logan to hold on. "Wait, wait, can we stop talking about us in the third person?"

Despite the tense situation, Logan laughed. "What I'm trying to say is, okay you're right; I don't know anything about you now. I know who you were during our teenage years, but not now. And I-I want to change that. We never really were friends, were we?"

Veronica cracked a tiny smile. "No. Friendship wasn't really our strong suit."

"Exactly. But we're older, and things are different. Why not try now, while I'm sticking around? Life was always more interesting with you in it, and I miss that."

Veronica hesitated before responding. Could she and Logan actually be friends? "Do you promise to stop judging choices in my life before you understand them?"

"I promise."

Veronica sighed. Being friends with Logan was never easy before, and Veronica was not even sure it would work now. And being friends with him probably would cause complications between her and Piz (and Veronica was sure she'd never hear the end of it from Mac and Wallace), but when Veronica opened her mouth, she found that she couldn't tell him no; she couldn't tell him she just couldn't have him in her life. "I guess we could try this whole friend thing," she said with half of a shrug. "What do we have to lose?" she added at the end with a weak smile. Logan in return, gave Veronica a genuine smile, not a smirk or a grin, but one of his actual smiles.

Logan slung an arm around her as they walked back to Mars Investigation. It was no longer raining, and the skies were surprisingly almost clear. Logan was still smiling. He liked the idea of having Veronica, one of the only few people he's ever felt close to, back in his life. He was happy to be able to try and be her friend, but Logan couldn't deny the feeling in his gut that said Veronica meant a lot more to him than just a friendship.

* * *

><p><strong>You guys enjoy all the conflicting emotions? :x. Be sure to review &amp; let me know!<strong>


End file.
